The region of Delhi was riddled with turmoil for a large part of the 14th century. The Mongols were making regular invasions into the territory, murdering people and plundering loot. Muhammad Bin Tughluq, the sultan between 1325 and 1351, had to quell a violent rebellion that his own nephew had orchestrated, eventually flaying the latter in public. The general citizen was ruled with an iron fist, living in constant fear for his life. Hate and divisiveness permeated across all sections of the society, but in the midst of all this, two people represented a beacon of hope for love and harmony — spiritual leader Nizamuddin Auliya and his faithful disciple, 
Amir Khusro.

A lecture this week will focus on how — when factionalism and communalism are threatening to tear the societal fabric once again, in the 21st century — the world needs similar examples of people with a strong moral backbone who can spread the message of peace. Author and journalist Mehru Jaffer will conduct it and she tells us that Nizamuddin Basti, the area where Auliya and Khusro resided, used to be an oasis of tranquillity amidst all the turmoil that was raging in Delhi at the time. Jaffer says, “Once people were in the Auliya’s presence, they didn’t have to worry about food, or what caste or gender they belonged to — everyone was welcome. There was music and laughter once you entered the basti, and when individuals saw how kind everyone was to each other, they started practising the same themselves despite all the hatred being spewed outside.”